Nash, Lakers limp toward All-Star break

Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni confers with a seemingly downcast Steve Nash during Tuesday night's loss to Utah. Nash aggravated the nerve irritation in his leg in the game, and didn't play in the second half.

EL SEGUNDO – If anyone needs a break, it’s the Lakers. Their four leading scorers are injured; even their best healthy players are banged up. And the driven 40-year-old point guard seems likely to be a game-time decision for what remains of his career.

Yes, the All-Star break will come at a welcome time for the Lakers. But first they will have to get through a once-marquee matchup with conference-leading Oklahoma City and potential MVP Kevin Durant.

“Durant’s been on fire,” Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He’s been arguably the best player in the league by far. They’re good and they have been good, so it will be a tough match.”

Durant leads the NBA with 31.2 points per game, and scored 36 to lead the Thunder to a win in Portland on Tuesday.

Coaches are generally saddled with the difficulties Durant and the Thunder (42-12) present. And while D’Antoni and his staff are game-planning for the Thunder, their biggest problems are on their own side.

Steve Nash is unlikely to play after leaving a second consecutive game Tuesday with nerve irritation in his leg. Wednesday, the Lakers had so few players available to practice that they could only watch film and walk through some defensive schemes.

As it has been since he returned the lineup 10 days ago, the focus remains on Nash and his health. The irritation of the nerve in his leg flared up again after he made his debut in Minnesota, then scored 19 points on his birthday in Philadelphia against the 76ers.

Then on Sunday he took a knee to the same spot on his leg where he suffered a fracture last year, and much of the work he did over the last 10 months was compromised.

“Obviously after having a really good week in Minnesota and Philadelphia, to have a setback was really frustrating,” Nash said. “Getting hit in the same sport where I hit my leg was unlucky.”

Asked how he avoids suggestions that he should simply retire, Nash said, “I don’t live in everyone else’s living room so I don’t hear.”

D’Antoni, who coached Nash in Phoenix, grew testy when a reporter reminded him that Nash had signed with the Lakers in 2012 with hopes of adding a championship to his already Hall of Fame worthy resume.

“I think sometimes we sit around talk about what kind of legacy,” D’Antoni said. “Well, he’s a great player, one of the best ever. … Celebrate what somebody has inside his heart instead of worrying about images. It drives me crazy.”

The Lakers hope the All-Star Weekend, which will give them off days Friday through Sunday – the team has no participants in the activities in New Orleans – will help Nash and others get back to health. Although it’s only three days, point guard Steve Blake – who is playing through an injured elbow – said the annual respite can actually be quite helpful.

“Three, four days rest is a lot, where guys can just sit out, rest, do treatment, have their own individual program,” he said. “It can make a big difference for a lot of guys.”

TIMELINE PUSHED BACK

Xavier Henry said last week there were no circumstances that he could see himself missing the rest of the season because of a knee injury that has kept him out since Dec. 29.

However, hope that he could return after the All-Star break turned out to be premature. The Lakers announced Wednesday he would have fluid drained from his right knee and will miss at least four more weeks.

“It’s tough because we could use the way he plays,” Blake said. “He’s a tough, strong kid and he plays hard and he doesn’t take plays off. Attacks the basket, gets to the free throw line; those are all things we could use right now.”

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